In the News

November 17, 2015 | A yearly report from the Center for Responsive Politics. Wealth inequality in the United States is pervasive — so much so that it’s apparent even in Congress. The House and Senate have their own form of inequality within their ranks. Of the 534 current members, the 53 richest owned nearly 80 percent of the estimated wealth held by…

July 24, 2015 | Thursday’s House passage of a bill that would keep states from requiring genetically modified foods to be labeled was a big — and not at all close — win for agribusiness and food and beverage interests. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, known to its critics as the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to…

January 12, 2015 | It would take the combined wealth of more than 18 American households to equal the value of a single federal lawmaker’s household, the Center for Responsive Politics’ latest analysis of congressional wealth finds. The median net worth of a member of Congress was $1,029,505 in 2013 — a 2.5 percent increase from 2012 — compared with an average American…

January 9, 2014 | A watershed moment for the finances of members of Congress: In 2012, more than half were millionaires, a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows. Also, Darrell Issa reclaims the top spot.

February 14, 2013 | Americans borrow a lot of money, and so do members of Congress. In 2011, lawmakers owed between $238.9 million and $568.3 million to various creditors, not including their home mortgage obligations. But it's not all student and car loans and carried-over credit card balances. Lawmakers borrow to buy planes and boats, and get involved in complex transactions involving lines of credit and margin loans with exclusive investment funds. And some carry credit card balances of more than $100,000.

January 16, 2013 | Think the Congress that just ended was out of touch with America? The new one may be no better, judging by how much it's worth. Overall, lawmakers are even wealthier than in previous years, according to our analysis of their 2011 financial disclosure statements, and 257 of them -- seven more than in 2010 -- are millionaires.

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